A touch screen system allows a user to control operation of a computing device simply by touching a touch screen of the device. For example, a user can input a command to the device by touching on or near a designated portion of the touch screen. The touch screen system can provide an intuitive method by which the user can easily interact with and control various functions performed by the device. For example, the touch screen system can display icon elements representing a keyboard to allow a user to input text to the device.
Touch screens can be produced in a variety of types and sizes and can be used with or in a wide variety of computing devices, such as personal computers, portable consumer electronics (e.g., mobile telephones, personal digital assistants, handheld computers, video game devices, etc.), kiosks, domestic appliances, vehicle information systems (e.g., GPS locators), and industrial equipment and tools. In many cases, users can enter and modify text and other content displayed by the device via the touch screen. Conventional touch screen systems do not provide user friendly interfaces for selecting a subset of displayed content. For example, it is often difficult and frustrating for a user to select content on a small touch screen, such as a touch screen employed by a mobile phone.
Therefore, a need exists in the art for an improved means for selecting displayed content using a touch screen.